Prince of Calcutta takes Dhaka by storm
After pouring rain stopped play in the India-Bangladesh encounter there were fears that rain might strike on the second day of the match as well and ruin things for the organisers
Anand Vasu
31-May-2000
After pouring rain stopped play in the India-Bangladesh encounter
there were fears that rain might strike on the second day of
the match as well and ruin things for the organisers. Fortunately,
the rain stayed away and cricket lovers at the Bangabandhu Stadium
were treated to generous doses of good batting. To start the
day's proceedings, Akram Khan blasted an invaluable half century
and took the hosts to 249 off their allotted 50 overs. Not to
be left out of the action, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly slammed
an unbeaten 135 and took India to an easy eight wicket win
in the Asia Cup at Dhaka on Tuesday.
Though they used eight bowlers in all, the Indians could not
better yesterday's performance. Spinners and pacemen alike dished
out a series of less than inspiring overs. Former captain Akram
Khan who has promised much but not really made good his promise
so far, used the long handle to good effect. The powerfully built
middle order batsman clouted the ball all around the park. No
bowler was spared.
After Agarkar and company were hit out of the attack,
Ganguly brought himself on and did worse than the rest. He was
welcomed into the attack by a firm thump over mid wicket and
that was just the beginning. Striking the ball cleanly, Akram
Khan took 20 runs off Ganguly in one over.
Kumaran was too short. Joshi too straight. Kumble too predictable.
There wasn't a single thing for India to be proud of. After slamming
66 off just 52 balls, Akram Khan played one shot too many and
was caught by debutant Hemang Badani off the bowling of Ajit
Agarkar.
Naimur Rehman, who was dismissed without facing a ball in the
game against Sri Lanka held one end up in solid fashion. When
the last ball of the innings was delivered Rehman was unbeaten
on 39. With 249 on the board the hosts would be more than pleased
with their performance. A healthy score, one made possible only
by a vicious last minute assault that yielded 91 runs in 10 overs.
Without taking away any credit from the Bangladesh batsmen, it
must be said that the Indians helped them along in every possible
manner.
A dazzling start to the Indian innings gave some hope that the
match could be conclusively decided before the rains started.
With dark clouds hanging ominously all around the
stadium, Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly went berserk from
very early on. The adage 'coming out with guns blazing' was put
to practical use.
In an attempt to introduce an element of variety, Bangladesh
opened the bowling with spinner Mohammed Rafique. Ganguly licked
his fingers in anticipation. After playing out one ball with
caution, Ganguly opened his shoulders and sent the ball into
the stands past midwicket. The floodgates opened and all hell
broke loose.
Tendulkar had been away from the strike for a majority
of the initial overs and more than made up for that when he did
have a go at the bowling. Chalking up an over of 23 runs against
Manjarul Islam, Tendulkar revealed his full array of strokes.
Toying with the bowling in a manner that bordered on arrogance,
Tendulkar destroyed Islam's confidence in the space
of one single over.
Having taken the lion's share of the strike, Ganguly was five short
of his half century when Tendulkar miscued a shot off
the bowling of debutant Mushfiq Rehman. The ball went high up
in the air and came down into the waiting hands of Habibul Basher
at mid on. Dismissed for an entertaining 25-ball 36, Tendulkar
was replaced by Hemang Badani.
An innings that started in entertaining fashion ended tamely
as India coasted to victory. After Badani
hit a long hop straight to the waiting hands of Aminul Islam
off the bowling of Enamul Hoque in the 25th over, Ganguly in
the company of former skipper Mohammed Azharuddin took India
to an easy win. Although Badani made a compact 35, one
thought he should really have gone on to make at least a half
century.
Ganguly's innings was generously peppered with trademark shots
that cleared the ropes with ease. Although he played with authority,
Ganguly came very close to being run out. The Bengal southpaw
stumbled when Azhar turned down a single, and made it back to
his crease just in time. Apart from that hiccup, it was a case
of Ganguly all the way.
Azharuddin was restrained in his innings of 35 but every
now and then played the kind of shot that amply explained why
he was a force to reckon with even at the age of 37. Unbeaten
on 135 Ganguly would have heaved a sigh of relief as India collected
two points and opened their account in the seventh Asia Cup.